Public transportation provides so many benefits to anyone who chooses this option to get around. Public buses and trains help decrease traffic congestion and carbon emissions, and they allow you to multitask during your commute. For all the benefits of public transportation, however, many people who frequent public transit understand the failings of the system as well. To help improve some of these failings, technologists and engineers are discovering how the Internet of things can improve public transportation.
Connectivity Can Improve Efficiency
Many people use services such as ride-sharing and food delivery that already display real-time vehicle tracking for a better user experience. The Internet of things allows public transit to offer a similar user experience to commuters. Industrial networking allows sensors within public transit vehicles and along their paths to convey more accurate information, which in turn provides commuters with more accurate information about arrivals and departures.
Help to Improve the Flow of the City
As cities invest in technological advancements for infrastructure, more devices can provide more information about what’s happening in the city. The information that public transit vehicles can both send and receive, combined with all the other information, can help the city run more smoothly. Vehicles can report emergency incidents, traffic patterns, or even better routes for other vehicles to take.
Improvements in Safety
The Internet of things also allows communication of critical vehicle information. Connected vehicles can report statistics that can allow for safer rides. Information such as brake pad usage and possible malfunctions can also be reported prior to equipment failure. The Internet of things also allows vehicles to communicate with other infrastructure devices such as stop lights. That communication could be a beneficial point of contact for emergency vehicles. Imagine a scenario where an emergency vehicle needs to get to a scene and every public vehicle is providing traffic information in real time. That level of communication could decrease crucial response times. That scenario could also assist law enforcement in critical situations as well.
As more cities explore how connectivity can improve public transportation, those discoveries can take us on an exciting road to improving our lives and making them a little easier.
facebook …
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/ArlingtonCardinal
Stay informed with news from PublicSafetyReporter.com’s Emergencies Behind the Scenes Facebook page — Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies.
